So, I rent kitchen space in a coffee shop, and have access to the space after they are closed. I know a lot of people on here rent commercial kitchen space, and don't have a storefront. I just got my first official call for a wedding cake yesterday, and while I have an idea of HOW I want to conduct my tastings (thanks to the great info on the forums here!!), I'm not sure WHERE I should do it.

Would it be weird if I do it at the coffee shop where I'm baking, during their operating hours? I'm not even sure if the owner would be okay with that, nor do I really want to have so much distraction around us. If I do it after hours, it has to be after 7pm, which seems late. Where would be a good alternative?? Please help! I need to call her back, but want to have answers to these questions when I do, so I sound like I know what I'm talking about hehe

Thanks!

I'd check with the owner first, but if you can do it after hours and it isn't too late, I'd do that. she might not want to have people there if the place isn't open, though. It wouldn't be weird to do it during operating hours as long as she's fine with it, and you have a place to talk that isn't out in the middle of the floor somewhere.

Yeah, I don't think he would mind either way, I'm just worried that 7pm is a little late (and maybe awkward because it's dinner hour?), and there isn't really an area separate from the main eating area, so if it were during business hours, we'd be in the middle of everything.

Any other ideas? Where do other people do tastings if they don't have a storefront?

Thanks!

I rent an office with some other people who work from home and we share the space for consults. I just wrote a little article about it today for my blog while I was there waiting for clients

I take a box of samples and we meet at a convenient starbucks. I find that they are very laid back about me bringing in my samples, and I always get a drink when I am there.

Ooh, renting a shared office space is a great idea. I may even contact some event/wedding planners or other people in the industry to see if I could "sublease" their office/consulting space for one Sunday per month, or something. At least until I need a space more frequently, and may eventually end up renting my own.

I'm glad to hear you meet at a coffee shop, that was the other option I was considering. There is one down the street that seems like it would be great for that sort of thing, but I was worried that it might be too distracting, having other customers around. I was also wondering if I may want to ask the coffee shop owners if they're okay with me doing tastings/meetings there, but that's probably not necessary. I also was thinking it would be nice to leave the potential customers to taste the samples alone, which wouldn't be possible in a coffee shop setting.... Hmmmmm....

I live in Ohio so I can bake from my home. I hold the consultations at my house so people can see the enivornment their cake will be made in. I know the average person does not know the requirements for getting a license (no pets, no carpet in the kitchen...) so seeing the inside of my home puts their mind at ease.

I work full time, so I hold the consultations during the week from 6:30 pm on and Sunday from 2:00 pm on. No one has ever said anything about the weekday time being late. Most people can't come before that anyway because they too work full time.